Door or window for ice-boxes



(No Model.) I Y 2 sneets-shet 1.

1).. ALTHEN. DOOR OR WINDOW FOR IGE BOXES. N0. 426,700. Patented Apr.29, 1890.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2,

'-(No Modiel D. ALTHEN; 10003.03 WINDOW FOR-10E BOXES.

- wvm co'c Jmn? I 1911/ m: Nonms warm: cm, mMo-urum, wasnmamn, 9. cv

NIT-ED '--YSTATES PATENT omot.

DANIEL AIJTHEN, OF BEATRICE, NEBRASKA.

DOOR OR WINDOW FOR ICE-=BOXES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 426,700, dated April29, 1890.

Application filedDecember 28,1889. Serial No. 335,275. (No model.) I

.To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, DANIEL ALTHEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Beatrice, in the county of Gage and State of N ebraska, haveinvented a new and useful Door or WVindow for Ice-Boxes, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention has relation to improvements in doors or windows forice-boxes for use in retail stores or other places wherein. it isnecessary to frequently open the same to permit access thereto; andamong the objects in View are to provide means whereby the temperatureof the ice-box will not be raised by such opening, thereby ,eifecting asaving in the ice and preserving the articles contained in the house.

With these general objects in View the invention consists in certainfeatures of construction hereinafter specified, and pointed out in theclaims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l is a front elevation of a portion ofan ice-box constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig.2 is a rear elevation of the same; Fig. 3, a vertical longitudinalsection.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts in all the figures of thedrawings.

1 represents the outer wall of an ice-box, which is provided with anopening 2, which communicates with a small cooling-chamber 3, locatedusually at one side or the front of said box.

The above chamber is generally employed in all ice-boxes, and it is thecustom to place within the same such small articles as berries,

' small cuts of meat, butter, lard, &c., to which frequent access mustbe had for the purpose of retailing the same. By the use of this smallchamber a person need not necessarily enter the ice-box proper sofrequently, and hence a great amount of warm air need not be permittedto enter the main box and thus raise the temperature, to the greatdetriment of the articles contained therein. It also has been consideredinjurious for persons to enter this great refrigerator-chamber, in thatvery often they were overheated and subjected their bodies to undue andquick cooling. For this reason the small chamber 3, with which theopening 2 communicates, has been provided,

and it is only necessary for the attendant to insert his hands withinthe opening and withdraw such articles as desired. Again, the opening,being small, permitted onlyIalvery limited amount of warm air to gainaccess to the box, but in order to prevent the same said chamber had nocommunication with the box proper. By my invention, however, I providedirect communication between the box and the small chamber, therebylowering the temperature of the latter to a degree equaling that of theformer, and yet at the same, time I provide means whereby when theopening 2, leading to the small chamber,

is open or uncovered all communication is at the same time automaticallyclosedbetween said chamber and the box.

-Upon the front of the box and at each side of the opening 2, I providean ordinary win dow-frame 4, which is of alength about double that ofthe opening 2, and between the sides of the said frame I mount forreciprocation an ordinary window sash 5, in which is mounted in thisinstance a transparent sightpanel 6. At the upper ends of the sidepieces of the frame there are mounted ordinary weight-pulleys '7, andpassing over the pulleys are cords 8, one end of each of which isconnected to the upper side of the sash, and the opposite ends of saidcords are provided with sash-weights 9, moving in the boxes at the sidesof the frame.

That portion of the rear wall of the chamber 3 opposite the opening 2 isremoved, and thus communication is afforded between the interior of thebox and the chamber; At each side of said openingthere is mountedga,vertical guide 10, which extends below and above the bottom and top ofthe chamber and are connected at their upper ends bya cross piece or bar11, carrying a pair of pulleys 12, suspended therefrom and near itsends.Y

The guides 10 are provided with a pair of grooves upon their innerfaces, and said grooves of one guide are in line with those of the otherguide. In each of the guides there is mounted a sliding shutter. Thelower shutter 13 is provided with a weight 14 and is mounted in one pairof guides, and the upper shutter 15 is mounted in the opposite pair ofguides, so that said shutters are IOC adapted to slide apart and exposethe opening between the chamber and box or to overlap each other andclose said opening. A pair of cords 16 have their lower ends connectedto the upper edge of the lower shutter, pass through the pulleys 12, andhave their upper ends connected to the upper edge of the shutter 15.

Below the sill of the window-frame 4 and in the wall of the box there ismounted a pair of pulleys 16*, and in rear of the same and dependingfrom the bottom of the chamber 3 is a second pair of pulleys 17.

18 represents a pair of ropes or cords which have their forwardterminals connected at each side of the lower edge of the sliding sash 5,which cords are each passed under a pulley l6 and over a pulley 17 andhave their terminals connected to the lower edge of the lower slidingshutter 13. By reason of the weight of the shutter 13 it will beapparent that the normal position of the same is lowered, and by reasonof the cords connecting said shutter with the upper shutter it will beapparent that the normal position of said shutter is raised or elevated,so that, the two shutters being separated, communication will beafforded between the small chamber and the ice-box, thus giving the twoa uniform temperature.

By raising the sash 5 to gain access to the chamber 3 it will beapparent that the cord 18, passing over the pulleys 16 and 17, will drawupwardly upon the lower shutter 13, which upward movement on the part ofthe latter slackens the connecting cords or ropes between said shutterand the upper shutter, and the latter will fall by gravity. In thismanner it will be noted that the two shutters slide by each other andclose the opening in the rear of the chamber, and thus cut ofl": allcommunication between said chamber and the ice-box, and the warm airentering through the opening 2 by reason of the raised sash is preventedfrom passing beyond the chamber. When the sash has been lowered to coverthe opening 2, it will be apparent that the ropes or cords 18 will beslackened and the lower weighted shutter falls, and as it falls raisesthe upper shutter, so that the shutters separate and uncover the openingbetween the small chamber and the ice-box. In this manner it will beapparent that but a small quantity of warm air can enter into theice-box, and that as the sash 5 is raised or lowered a contrary movementof the shutters takes place.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. The combination, withan ice-box having a chamber located in its walls and provided withopposite openings, the rear one communicating with the interior of theicebox, of guides mounted at the opposite sides of the openings in thechamber, pulleys located below the chamber, a sash mounted for slidingin the guides located at the front open.- ing of the chamber, andopposite shutters mounted for sliding in the guides at the rear openingof the chamber, cords passing over the pulleys and having their endsconnected to the lower ends of the sash and lower shutter, pulleyslocated at the upper ends of the guides at the rear opening of thechamber, and separate cords mounted in the pulleys and having their endsconnected to the two shutters so that a movement of the lower shutter inone direction causes a contrary vided with opposite openings, the rearone communicating with the interior-of the icebox, of a sash mounted forsliding in the front opening of the chamber, opposite shutters mountedfor sliding in the rear opening of the chamber, cords having their endsconnected to the sash and lower shutter, and separate cords having theirends connected to the two shutters so that a movement of the lowershutter in one direction causes a contrary movement of the other,substantially as specified.

3. The combination, with the box and the cooling-chamber 3, havingopposite open ends, of the opposite double guides 10, connected at theirupper ends by the bar 11, the depending pulleys 12, mounted in the bar,the opposite shutters mounted for sliding in the opposite double guides,one of said shutters being weighted, opposite cords passing over thepulleys 12 and having their corresponding ends connected with the upperedges of the sliding shutters, the sash 5, mounted in the guides 4 atthe front opening of the chamber, pulleys mounted in the guides, ropes8, mounted upon the pulleys, connected to the sash, and having theweights 9, the pulleys 16 and 17, located under the chamber, and theropes 18, mounted on said pulleys and connecting the lower end of thesash with the lower end of the lower shutter, substantially asspecified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixedmy signature in presence of two witnesses.

DANIEL ALTIIEN.

Witnesses:

JONATHAN CARPENTER, LEWIS ACHENBACH.

